Suicide Squad (Volume 4) Issue 8
Synopsis "Aftermath" After shooting Harley Quinn in the gut, Deadshot shrugs the Joker's peeled off face from his own. Responding to Amanda Waller, Deadshot announces that Harley has been subdued, and that they require extraction. Later, Waller has them all returned to Belle Reve, where she leans over Harley's hospital bed and warns the unconscious girl that if she ever pulls a stunt like she did - staging a prison riot, and attempting to steal the Joker's face - again, she will not hesitate to kill her. She is interrupted by Dr. Visyak, who was recently rescued from the organization known as Basilisk. Using a special compound, Visyak brings Harley back to consciousness. Waller spares no time in reiterating her annoyance. Waller checks in on El Diablo, who is having tattoos added back to his body. Waller thinks to herself that he is the worst kind of criminal - the kind who thinks that he is working for a higher power. Even now, Chato is tortured by visions of shadow monsters that intend to make him pay for his sins. Nearly a year ago, someone was kept imprisoned at a secret location, until finally they were allowed to go outside. The captors appeared to be part of some kind of cult. The man who acted as caretaker commented that Superman's appearances in public were a game-changer. A new era would begin of heroes and villains, and this cult would like to be the good guys - the ones who don't wear masks of any kind. They wanted their captive to be on their side. Waller looks in on King Shark, who is being kept in the dry end of a swimming pool with heat lamps on him. The shark realizes that he is being played. Waller is trying to make him forget that she had promised that there would be only six more missions by dehydrating him. Waller sternly warns that he will be done when she says he's done. He has no rights, because he is nothing more than a murdering monster who belongs in a cage. Before leaving, she reveals that she knows that he ate Yo-Yo, but promises not to tell the rest of the team. Next, Waller looks in on Light, who is shaken by the death of her twin sister Lime. Waller hopes that the rumours about twins being able to feel each other's pain is true, so that Light is not tempted to try to talk about Task Force X like her sister did. The same fate - and exploded head - would await her. Eric Needham, the Black Spider, has recovered from his gunshot wound, and he's ready to get back into the game. Waller reminds him that he is not like the other members of the team, and he is free to go when he wants to; the Suicide Squad won't bring his family back. Eric insists that he still needs to be a part of it, for now. Having bought into the cult's ideology, the once-captive attended a ceremony, drawing strength from the serpent; the basilisk. The instructor produced a photo of Amanda Waller, claiming that she was Basilisk's true enemy - the one who hides in the shadows and pulls the strings of the masked puppets. The acolyte was tasked with killing Waller in the name of the Basilisk. Deadshot practices his shooting, and finds that his aim is off. Waller interrupts him and comments that he looks terrible, noting the nasty gash on his upper lip from where Harley cut him. Waller recommends that he get his head straightened out before the next mission, and he insists that he's fine. Waller remarks that his aim is terrible, and some of the things she heard Harley say to him while she was torturing him clearly shook him up. She reminds that the team depends on him for leadership. Grumpily, Floyd pleads to have the leadership given to someone else, but Waller refuses to consider someone else. Later, however, Waller offers the role of leader to Savant. She asks him to stay on, despite the fact that he is not required to stay, as per their arrangement. Savant remarks that he has already got enough of a target on his back with Deadshot than to make it worse by giving him orders. As he leaves, he assures Waller that as far as he is concerned, Suicide Squad does not exist. Waller sends the remains of the Suicide Squad on their next mission. They must go to Metropolis, and seek out and kill Mitch Shelley, without garnering the attention of Superman. If they are caught, they are all expendable. Six months ago, the agent of Basilisk was briefed on the mission: commit a high-profile crime and get arrested. Then be sentenced to life in Belle Reve, where Amanda Waller would invite them to join Task Force X. Then, when the time was right, the agent would kill every last member of the team for the glory of Basilisk. One of the current members of the Suicide Squad is a mole for Basilisk. Appearances "Aftermath" Individuals *Suicide Squad **Deadshot **Light **King Shark **Savant (Leaves the team) **Black Spider **El Diablo **Harley Quinn *Amanda Waller *Dr. Visyak *Basilisk *Mitch Shelley Locations *Gotham City **Gotham City Police Headquarters **Arkham Asylum *Louisiana **Belle Reve Links *http://www.dccomics.com/dccomics/comics/?cm=21441 *http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Suicide_Squad_Vol_4_8 *http://www.comicvine.com/suicide-squad-aftermath/37-329196/ Suicide Squad (Volume 4) Issue 08